Crash and Freeze
by Jedi Master Calriel
Summary: Johnny never expected something like this to happen to him. He had always thought of his powers as a gift, but now he realized that they could also be a curse, especially when being controlled by someone who would stop at nothing to destroy his family
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Fantastic Four. I'm not even sure I own the plot, seeing as how someone sometime before me probably already used it, as there are very few truly original ideas to be found. However, I will try to put my own twist on things.

Crash and Freeze

Chapter One

Johnny groaned as he cracked his eyes open and hissed in pain as the dim light assaulted his senses. He immediately shut his eyes. He was not in his bed, that much he was sure of. What he was lying on was hard, and seemed a little damp. He was sure that had his body temperature not been so high and he had not been wearing his bodysuit under his clothes, he would be freezing by now.

He opened his eyes again and tried to control the pounding ache in his head. He had no idea how he ended up in this predicament. One minute, he was laughing in the bar, surrounded by beautiful women, and the next thing he knew, he was waking up here, in an alley. This didn't make any sense. He had barely had half a drink, so obviously someone had drugged him. He wasn't naïve enough to believe that something like that could never happen to him. He was the Human Torch, after all. Over the past few years, the Fantastic Four had made plenty of enemies that would want to do harm to them. But who would go to the trouble of intentionally drug him only to leave him perfectly intact, albeit with a killer headache, in a back alley?

He carefully got to his feet, and stood still as the ground seemed to shift under his feet momentarily. Whatever he had been given must have been extremely strong. Hell, it took nearly a whole case of beers to get him to even feel the effects of the alcohol, due to his body burning it off quickly. He didn't exactly know how drugs would affect his system, having no experience with them, despite what his sister, and most likely Ben as well, thought; however, he was sure it would take more than the usual amount to affect him.

OoooOoooOoooO

"Dr. Allison McKall accepted a seat on the medical board of Manhattan's prominent Mt. Sinai Medical Center today. The neurosurgeon has recently returned from Stockholm, where she received the coveted honor of the Nobel Prize in Medicine for her revolutionary technology that is able to regulate body temperature in extreme cases, such as when fevers peak dangerously high or body temperature plummets due to hypothermia. This technology has recently been adapted to be used in industries where—"

Reed switched the television in the lab off with a grin. Ally McKall was his dream girl in high school and his first years of college. She was his picture of perfection: beautiful, with stunningly clear blue eyes and radiant red hair, and fiercely intelligent, his only competition. However, despite the bets that went around on when they would get together, there was never much hope for them. Ally was ferociously competitive, and it killed her that he always beat her in their classes. It wasn't until their later college careers that they became friends without letting competition come between them, but by then, Reed had already met Sue.

He smiled again has he thought of his wife. When compared to her, Allison McKall paled, although if Susan ever found out that he even thought about comparing her to another woman, even one he had dubbed not in her league, she would probably kill him.

"JOHNNY!"

He winced. God, he loved that woman, even if she was a little crazy sometimes.

OoooOoooOoooO

Ben Grimm turned off the mindless television show and turned towards where the youngest member of their team had just come through the front door.

_'This oughta be good,'_ he thought.

"JOHNNY!" Susan Richards, formerly Storm, shrieked as her brother walked in. "Where have you been?!? Do you know how worried I've been?!? You've been gone since yesterday afternoon! You've been out for over 24 hours! What were you thinking?!? What if we needed you?"

Usually, Ben would have thought that Suzie's rant was completely deserved, especially since the kid had had them all worried, himself included, though he would never admit it out loud. However, taking a good look at the kid's face, he noticed that he looked a little dazed and confused. Maybe something had happened to him, or someone had done something to him. The Thing felt anger course within him at the thought of someone harming the younger man. He was very protective of his team. They had become a family to each other, and there was nothing he wouldn't do for any of them, even if they did tend to grate on his nerves most of the time.

"Sue, I'm sorry, but—" Johnny tried to explain but his sister was having none of it.

"No, Johnny, sorry isn't good enough! I thought you had outgrown these childish antics!"

"You know what, Susan, it wasn't my fault, but clearly you don't want to hear my side of things! I'm out of here!" he said, storming towards the elevator.

"Where are you going?" she demanded as the elevator doors opened.

"For a drive. Don't worry, I'll be back before curfew, Mom," he said sarcastically as the door closed.

Sue growled in frustration.

"You know, Suzie, maybe you should have heard him out," Ben reasoned.

She sighed guiltily. "I know, I was just so worried, you know? But I guess that's not really an excuse. I'll talk to him when he gets back."

OoooOoooOoooO

Johnny relaxed as he let the thrill of being behind the wheel of the sleek Ferrari Spyder. Driving had always allowed him to clear his mind, allowed him to leave the rest of the world behind. He knew that it wasn't Sue's fault for blowing up. She always blew up when he did something stupid that made her worry like crazy. And it wasn't like he had never pulled the same stunt before of his own volition. But he had matured in the past few years, facing dangers that threaten not only his family, but the entire planet. Sue should have taken that into consideration, and probably had as soon as he left.

He suddenly felt guilty for storming out like he did. He should have stayed and told them what had happened to him. It could be a new threat to the entire team, or it could very well be something personal. Either way, his family deserved to know.

A light turned red in front of him. He was only a couple of blocks away from the Baxter Building. He thrummed his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel as he waited. Finally, the light turned green. However, as he went through the intersection, he was suddenly blinded by a pair of blaring headlights coming straight at him from his left side.

Pain shot through his body as the driver's side of his car was crushed in. It overwhelmed him, and for the second time in less than two days, his world went dark.

Tbc...


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

A/N: I'd like to thank all of my reviewers for the wonderful response to the first chapter. A special thanks to Lady Elora for not being afraid to bust my chops, especially when it comes to my dialogue, which I know is one of my weak points. Also, for all of you who think that you know where I am going with this, you ain't seen nothing yet! ;) There is a long road ahead for this story, so you better keep the reviews coming, because, as those of you who have read my stories know, I can sometimes lose interest for long periods of time. It is a major fault that I really hope doesn't come into play with this story.

Crash and Freeze

Chapter Two

A cloud of smoke billowed from the lab, followed by a string of muffled curses. He was sure he had had it that time! He quickly tried to contain the smoke before it could reach the smoke alarm and wake anyone up.

Reed stretched his neck to peek out at Susan, who had fallen asleep on the couch, where she had determinedly set up camp in order to apologize to Johnny when he came back. Fortunately, his laboratory mishap had not waken her. He frowned as he looked at the clock. 12:32. Johnny should have been home by now. It wasn't like him not to keep his word, even if he was upset at Sue for jumping to conclusions.

The shrill ring of the phone cut into his thoughts. He quickly grabbed it off the hook and answered it before it could ring again.

"Hello?" As the voice on the other end spoke, his face went completely white. "We'll be right there."

OoooOoooOoooO

Everyone in the waiting room of Mt. Sinai was giving them a wide berth. Whether out of respect for their privacy or fear of approaching them, Sue didn't know. Most likely the latter, she was sure, as she looked at the two men next to her. They were used to having family members' lives in jeopardy, not that it made it easier when they were. But in this case, they couldn't do anything!

Reed was trying to remain calm, probably because he knew that calm was the last thing that she and Ben could be in a situation like this. But his calm demeanor had a fierceness to it that made it clear that he was about five seconds from snapping if anyone dared to invade the sanctuary of their silence.

Ben was even worse. He was not even trying to keep the fury off of his face. Inactivity was not something he liked. The only reason he wasn't pacing was because Reed had put an end to it when he commented that he probably would wear a hole in the floor. He had given the elastic man a very dirty look but the pacing had stopped.

The waiting was driving her crazy! Johnny had been her responsibility for as long as she could remember, even before their parents died, an idea that she knew he chafed under. Now, she was in danger of losing her little brother, it hurt even more to know that it was the same way they had lost their mother.

"Mrs. Richards," a voice said, startling her out of her worries. She stood to face the woman who had addressed her, anxious to hear what she had to say, while at the same time dreading it.

"I'm Dr. McKall, I'm your brother's neurosurgeon," she began. "Your brother's injuries were extensive, but most were not life-threatening and we were able to handle those in a way that will not having any lasting damages. The most worrying thing was massive internal bleeding and a ruptured spleen, both of which we managed to get under control."

"There's a but coming, isn't there?" Susan asked when the doctor paused.

Dr. McKall sighed before giving the bad news. "There is a good bit of swelling in your brother's brain. We have tried to wait it out, hoping that it would go down, but it hasn't yet. With your permission, we would like to do surgery on his brain to reduce the swelling. It is a risky procedure, and there is a slight chance that the swelling will go down on its own, but if it doesn't, it is extremely likely that your brother will suffer some brain damage, how much we can't say."

Susan almost cried at the thought of her baby brother going through life with brain damage, but she didn't know what to do. "Can we have a moment, please?" she asked with a much more steady voice than she thought she could.

"Of course," the doctor replied, stepping away to give the three some privacy.

She looked at Reed and Ben with tears in her eyes. "What do I do?" she asked, terrified of the decision that had been put on her shoulders.

"Susan, this decision isn't an easy one," Reed began gently before being cut off.

"Damn it, Reed, don't try to sugarcoat it for me, give me the truth," Susan snapped, knowing that he knew the same truth he did but needing to hear to from his mouth all the same.

Reed sighed wearily. "His chances aren't good either way, but they are better with the surgery."

Ben kept quiet, knowing the other two knew more about this kind of thing than he did and trying desperately to come to terms with the fact that the quick wit he loved to argue with could be diminished no matter what they did.

Tbc...

Sorry for the length. I will try harder to write longer chapters, I promise!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: See Chapter One

A/N: This one is for emb22. Hope you get to feeling well! And I've actually got a lot of compliments on my summary, which makes me smile because I usually can't write them very well. Also, Lady Elora, I can't take credit for doing my homework, not really. I got my first taste of Fantastic Four last Friday when I went with a bunch of people to see Rise of the Silver Surfer, and it piqued my interest, which means I obsessively researched because I wanted more. As for the medical stuff, I watch a little too much House, and recently Scrubs. And I am surprised that nobody caught my goof-up in the first chapter when I said the driver's side was on the left side of a Ferrari. I am going to try to make my chapters longer from now on, but they may come more infrequently, so it's up to you.

Crash and Freeze

Chapter Three

Consciousness slowly creeped into Johnny's mind. He was lying on a bed, and could hear the _beep beep_ of monitors nearby. For a moment, he panicked. He couldn't see! Then he felt like hitting himself, if he had the energy that is. He still had his eyes closed.

With effort, he cracked his eyes open. However, he quickly shut them again as he was immediately assaulted by blinding white lights. Gathering his resolve, he opened his eyes once more and blinked owlishly. However, as he became more aware of where he was and he became completely lucid, he began to choke reflexively.

People rushed into the room. Two women held him down, something that would have surely drawn an inappropriate comment from him had he not been choking.

"Relax, Mr. Storm," another said, coming forward quickly. "You are intubated. I'm need you to relax your throat so that taking it out will be easier."

He tried frantically to do as she said as she pulled the tube from his mouth. He instantly began to cough relentlessly and one of the nurses, as he figured they were, to hold a glass of water to his lips. He gulped it down gratefully and then took a deep breath before relaxing against his pillows.

"Now, that's better," the woman who removed the intubation said, nodding at the nurses and dismissing them. "I'm Dr. McKall. Your family is waiting to see you outside, but first I'd like to ask you some questions, if that's okay with you."

"Sure, not like I'm gonna get out of here any faster by refusing, right?" he replied good-naturedly.

She smiled thinly before looking down at her chart.

_'Tough crowd,'_ he thought, laying his head back on his pillow.

"Can you tell me your name?" she began.

"John Storm."

"Do you know where you are?"

"Hospital?" he guessed.

"Hmmm... Do you know today is?"

"Well, it was January 13, but that was earlier tonight, could be pass midnight by now," he joked.

Dr. McKall leveled him with a stern look before consulting her chart again. "Okay, Mr. Storm, can you wiggle your toes for me?" she asked, pulling up his blanket to observe his feet. Feeling she wouldn't appreciate another joke, he acquiesced silently.

"Very good," she said, nodding. "Now hold up two fingers for me." He obeyed again, feeling a bit foolish. She then produced a small flashlight. "Follow the light with your eyes," she ordered, turning it on and moving it back and forth.

He moved his eyes back and forth with the light. "Okay, I'm getting a bit dizzy now," he commented, only half-joking.

She narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "Okay, Mr. Storm, it seems as if you've retained all your cognitive and motor abilities. You are very lucky. Most people don't walk away from the kind of accident you were involved in. Now, I am sure your family is anxious to see you, so I will leave you to them," she said before walking out.

Not two minutes after she left, Susan, Reed, and Ben walked solemnly into the room. He grinned at their serious faces. "Come on, guys, I'm hurt, not dead."

Two tears escaped from Sue's eyes as she rushed over to his bed. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!" she hissed before leaning over to kiss his forehead.

He smiled softly. "Sorry, sis, I honestly didn't mean to get this busted up. But don't worry, it doesn't hurt as bad as it looks."

Ben snorted. "That's because they got you all numbed up with morphine, kid. I'm sure you'll feel it when they lower the doses."

"That's optimistic. Thanks, Pebbles," Johnny said sarcastically.

"That one's free, hotshot, but only because you've seen to mess yourself up bad enough as it is," he warned.

"I didn't mess myself up," Johnny said bitterly. "Someone deliberately crashed into me!"

"What?" they all exclaimed, different expressions of anger and outrage distorting their faces.

"Any idea who it was?" Reed asked, immediately trying to analyze the situation.

"Most likely the same guy who spiked my drink last night, leaving me to wake up in a dark alley the next day," Johnny admitted.

Sue's expression of protective anger melted quickly into one of guilt. "Oh, Johnny, I am so sorry! If I had only listened to you earlier, this never would have happened!"

Johnny waved off her apology. "Don't blame yourself, Sue. If I hadn't gone out tonight, they would have just gotten me later."

"Well, I'll tell you this," Ben growled. "Whoever did this to you better hope I never get a hold of them."

"You better leave some for me," Reed said while Sue nodded in agreement.

OoooOoooOoooO

Johnny smiled and breathed in the fresh air (relatively fresh, at least, it was still New York). It had been a week since the accident, and he had been itching to get out of the hospital. He winced as a nurse helped him into the car. Ben had definitely been right when he said that the pain would set in once they took him off all that morphine.

Sue nervously fretted over him as the nurse closed his door. She made sure he was all settled and buckled in before buckling herself in and starting the car. She gently pulled off the curb and started driving towards the Baxter Building—very slowly.

He looked at her incredulously, but she didn't notice. He sighed silently, not saying anything to her about her driving. He knew she was just nervous and had her overprotective streak in overdrive. He was only grateful that the hospital wasn't far from home, because if it were, he might not have been able to hold his tongue when a bicycle passed them.

Tbc...


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

A/N: I hope you all have noticed the change of rating to that of T. Future chapters will most definitely make this switch a necessity. And sorry that this chapter has more Johnny POV than the others, but it was kinda necessary. Also, to Silver Dog Demon, the surgery would probably have been sometime in the mid-morning the day after the crash, and Johnny may or may not have woken up that night or the next day, but he wouldn't know how much time had elapsed, so he just answered with the date of when he was last aware, which was the day he woke up in the alley and got into the crash.

Crash and Freeze

Chapter Four

A bell rang through the Fantastic Four's home. Ben growled lowly as it reached his ears, which he did have, regardless of what that Matchstick said. The bell rang again. Speaking of Matches, if he rang that damn bell one more time, Ben could not be responsible for his actions.

Five weeks ago, when Johnny first came home from the hospital, Ben had been the one who first suggested the bell. But that was when his rocky heart still felt sorry for the kid, who had to hobble around on crutches with a broken tibia, a snapped humerus, and two fractured ribs. However, with the final casts, bandages, braces, and whatnot coming off tomorrow, Ben wasn't feeling very sympathetic with the kid, who was obviously trying to milk his last hours for all they were worth.

Lucky for Johnny, Sue had taken it upon herself to answer his summons, saving the Human Torch from a headache due to being hit in the head with a bunch of rocks. Not that Susan was feeling any more charitable towards him, but she, at the very least, wouldn't lose her temper enough to do anything more than go invisible.

_'I swear, it seems as if the kid wants to annoy the hell out of us!'_ Ben thought as the bell rang again.

OoooOoooOoooO

Johnny sighed as he flexed his arm and leg absently while flirting with the nurse who had come in to tell him Dr. McKall would be with him shortly. It seemed strange to him that his neurosurgeon would want to see him. After all, his appointment was about his broken limbs, nothing to do with his brain. He raised his eyebrow as he spotted the good doctor chatting outside his door with Reed, who had pulled the short straw and drove him to the hospital. Apparently, Dr. McKall wasn't seeing him for _his_ sake.

Had it been a few years ago, Johnny may have gotten angry at Reed for talking to the doctor, but of course, he hadn't really known the man very well back then. Well, at the time, he had thought he'd know him, but he never really tried to get more than a superficial view of any men that flitted in and out of Sue's life, more often than not breaking her heart in the process. His sister was a beautiful woman, who had drawn men like a moth to a flame. However, none of them ever seemed to appreciate her intelligence or understand her need to look after her younger brother. When Reed came along, Johnny thought he would be just like all the others. He had long since realized that he was wrong, and he was extremely glad that his sister never listened to his opinion when it came to relationships.

He winced internally as his thoughts carried him to how he had treated all of his family in the past weeks, bossing them around like they were slaves meant to serve his every whim. Sure, part of it was the pain and the fact that they said that they hadn't minded. However, most of it was due to the fact that he just wanted to annoy them. Of course, that sounded awful, but he couldn't help it! They had been driving him insane! They were suffocating him! Okay, honestly, he knew where they were coming from. If any of them were drugged, left in an alley, and then run down by a car, he would definitely be a little protective, but what exactly did they think was going to happen to him at the Baxter Building! Honestly!

He ceased his mental rant as Dr. McKall walked in. He turned a charming smile towards the tall red-head. "Good morning, doc."

She just leveled her cool, blue stare onto him and looked down at his chart. "Your vitals are excellent, and if your physical therapist reports aren't exaggerated, then your bones have healed at a remarkable rate," she informed him in a tone that suggested that she didn't like either of the possibilities. "In fact, I would go as far as to say that you're as good as new."

Johnny brightened at that. Not that she said it in any pleasant tone or anything, but rather in spite of the tone she did use. In his brief encounters with Dr. McKall, he didn't see her as being a very optimistic type of person. She was definitely a hardcore realist. To hear he was in top shape from her ensured him that he would finally be able to get back to his life!

OoooOoooOoooO

The next morning dawned bright and clear, which would lead most people to believe that it would be a promising day. However, for a young superhero trying to get back into routine, the beginning of the day was anything but promising.

Johnny threw the melted toothbrush down in disgust. How the hell did that happen? Had he been angry or frustrated or excited or any noticeable emotion really, he wouldn't have been shocked to raise a dripping glob of melting red plastic towards his mouth. But he hadn't even been awake enough to walk to the bathroom without running into a wall, let alone be in emotion turmoil.

Shrugging in dismissal, he grabbed another toothbrush out of the cabinet. Concentrating, he tried again to clean his teeth. This time, he managed to do so without mishap. Casting his first attempt off as a fluke, he rinsed his mouth with mouthwash and walked out.

He walked into the kitchen, his mouth salivating at the aroma of a freshly cooked breakfast. Sue must either be in a great mood, like she was after Reed proposed, or feeling extremely guilty, like she had right after his accident. Either way, Johnny was in no way going to question her when she laid such a fabulous spread before him. Reed and Ben were already digging in, and Johnny, not about to let the others get all the food, reached over to grab a plate. However, when he did, fire shot out of his hand.

"Shit!" he cried, trying to pat out the flames. "Not again!"

Reed and Ben looked at him in concern. "What do you mean again?" Reed asked. "Have you been having problems with your powers and not telling us?"

"It was only a melted toothbrush!" he replied defensively.

"And now a burnt tablecloth," Ben pointed out, looking at the charred white linen on the corner of the breakfast table.

"Perhaps its just the remaining painkillers and muscle relaxers in your system," Reed reasoned. "You'll probably be fine in a couple of days."

"Guys!" Sue cried, rushing in. "There's a huge fire downtown that they need our help with!"

All three of them jumped up from their seats, ready for action. However, Reed stopped short and looked hard at Johnny.

"Maybe you should stay behind, Johnny. If your powers are malfunctioning, it could be dangerous for you," he said.

"No way I'm staying behind!" Johnny insisted. "I've been out of commission for weeks! I'm not going to sit on the sidelines of this one!"

Reed nodded in defeat. "Okay, but be careful."

OoooOoooOoooO

Johnny walked carefully through the burning hallway, holding the little girl in his arms and trying desperately to get out fast without having the unstable floor collapsing under them both. He took the stairs two at a time, putting as little of his weight on them as possible. Finally, he made it through the door of the building and out onto the streets.

Suddenly, the little girl in his arms cried out. He looked down at her and realized in horror that his hands were burning holes in her cotton sundress. He dropped her quickly and backed away, looking at his hands in terror. What was happening to him?

Tbc...


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

Crash and Freeze

Chapter Five

"Johnny, you have to leave your room sometime, you know!" Sue's voice reached him through the door, the pillow, and the blanket. As soon as he had seen the fear in that little girl's eyes as she slowly backed away from him, he had left the scene quickly. When he got back to the Baxter Building, he had barricaded himself in his room and cocooned himself on his bed with his comforter and pillows. That had been three hours ago, and none of his teammates had felt that his self-enforced isolation was the way to deal with what happened.

"Maybe," he replied, turning his head slightly towards the door. "But I don't have to until whatever side-effects that I am apparently having from my drugs wears off!"

"Johnny, come on, come out," Reed reasoned. "Let us help you. Let me run tests and see if I can't flush the remaining drug residues from your system."

"No!" Johnny said vehemently. They had tried the same arguments on him over and over again to try and get him out of his room, but they didn't understand. Sure, the little girl had ended up fine, Johnny having realized what was happening before he could do much more than singe her shirt. However, if his control was so lax, what was to keep him from setting something on fire, or worse someone? He couldn't risk his family's lives like that.

For the first time since they had been exposed to the cosmic storm that had caused them to develop the powers they were known for, he was afraid of what he could do.

He sighed in relief as he heard the retreating footsteps of his family. All he wanted to do was sleep until this whole ordeal were over. He closed his eyes only to snap them open again at the sound of his cell phone. He groaned as he reached over and opened the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Storm," a hauntingly familiar female voice greeted. "I'm sure you have noticed the problems you are having with your powers."

He shot straight up and clutched the phone. "Who is this?"

"No need to get up on my account," the cool voice responded in amusement.

Johnny's eyes grew wide and he looked frantically around the room, his eyes finally alighting on the window. He rushed over and let his eyes roam each adjacent building in a frenzy. "Where are you?"

"No where near you, I assure you. Now, calm down and behave yourself, before you cause the deaths of your entire family..."

"What do you mean? Don't you dare touch them!" he hissed menacingly.

"I wouldn't do a thing to them, at least, no one would know it was me, at least. You see, Mr. Storm, with a push of a button, I can control your body temperature. Now how would you feel if the entire Baxter Building burned down all because of you," the woman actually sounded delighted at the possibility.

"What do you want from me?" Johnny asked, resigned to do whatever the woman asked of him.

"Uh uh, not yet, Mr. Storm," she chided. "First we have to see if you can behave yourself in front of your family. But don't worry, I'll be in touch. Oh, and I wouldn't mention this conversation to your family. You wouldn't want to upset them... or burn them."

Before he could get in another word, the line went dead.

What did he do now? What else could he do but obey? He couldn't let Sue, Reed, or Ben figure out what was going on either, which was going to be hard because all three of them were too damn smart for him to fool for long. He sighed as he lay back down on the bed. The first thing he had to do was stay put for the rest of the day, just like he had planned before his unexpected phone call. After that, things would get a lot more complicated, but hey, on the bright side, he had all day to figure it out.

OoooOoooOoooO

The woman smiled as she looked at the screen in front of her. Her words had obviously had the desired effect on the mutated freak. Mutants—how she despised their kind. The Fantastic Four may not have been true mutants, but they held the key to the downfall of the mutant community. If only she could find it...

That's what she needed the little firefly for. Unfortunately for him, it will be very painful. She watched gleefully as he lay back on the bed. The little fool actually thought that obedience would save him and his family, not that she would have it any other way. After all, her plan would never succeed if he weren't afraid...

OoooOoooOoooO

Reed frowned in puzzlement as he looked at the display. The security system had a few wrinkles that needed to be ironed out, and he figured that he may as well work on it while he had some downtime. The system itself wasn't the most ideal, especially since it left much to be desired in the privacy department, but they had all agreed shortly after they had gotten their powers that it was for the best. All four trusted each other completely, so it was fairly easy for them all to agree to a security camera in each of their rooms. Thus far, there had been no problems.

However, he couldn't figure out where the damn problem was coming from! He couldn't get any video feed from any room in the house, a problem that he had discovered a few days ago when he ran a routine test to ensure everything was in working order. Upon investigation, he discovered that the video feed for more than a month was all blank.

He sighed as he turned away from the computer. It wasn't programming that was the problem, which meant that it had to be hardware. Since damages to one individual camera would not cause a problem with any of the others, he would have to check all of the main wiring.

However, before he could get started, Sue called him to dinner. He frowned again as he looked up to where the camera was in the lab and shrugged. There was no pressing danger to the team. It could wait another day or two.

Tbc...

Short, I'm sorry! I was going to make it longer, but I'm about to fall asleep! Hope you enjoy it and please review!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

A/N: Sorry for the wait, but I did warn you what might happen if my interest started to wane. Don't worry, I watched the first FF again Saturday and saw the second again last night, so I got a little boost, but reviews feed my muse!

Crash and Freeze

Chapter Six

When Johnny walked out of his room the next day and into the living room, his teammates dropped whatever they had been talking about and looked at him. Instantly, he began to panic. _'Oh, God, they know! What do I do?'_ However, he banished those thoughts from his head, knowing how stupid he was being. They knew nothing of the mysterious phone call. They couldn't.

"Hey! Look who finally decided to come out to play!" Ben teased, looking at Johnny with a knowing look which made him fear once again that they somehow knew what the woman had said.

"Johnny, are you alright?" Sue asked, standing up and putting a hand on his cheek. "You don't look so good. Are your powers still acting up?"

Reed frowned. "We can still go to the lab and run some tests if you'd like," he offered, starting to get up.

"No!" he said forcefully, taking them all aback. "I mean, I'm fine. Just a little hungry, ya know?" he assured them nervously.

Sue smiled. "Of course you are! You haven't eaten since yesterday morning! You sit down and I will whip you up something!"

Johnny smiled back and sat down, hating himself for lying to his sister. She had always been there for him, always taken care of him. It would be so easy to figure out a way to communicate to her what was going on, no matter how much surveillance he was under. However, Sue would instantly slip into her protective role, alerting whoever was watching that something was wrong. And if that happened, things would all go up in flames, literally.

"You sure you're okay, kid?"

"Hm," he said, Ben's voice startling out of his reverie. "Yeah, big guy, I'm fine."

OoooOoooOoooO

"Ow!" Reed cried after banging his head on the metal casing surrounding the wires. The phone just kept ringing though, undeterred by the pain it had caused to its owner. He stretched his arm to grab it from his desk and put it to his ear.

"Hello?" he said, continuing to look over the wires of the security system, still puzzled over what the problem could be.

"Hello, Reed," a feminine voice greeted.

"Ally!" he cried in surprise, banging his head again. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

She giggled slightly, a far cry from the Dr. McKall Johnny had come to know from his doctor visits. "I just thought it would be fun to call you. You know, to catch up. It's been a long time since the last time we saw each other, not counting the accident and your brother-in-law's subsequent ordeal. How about meeting me for a cup of coffee?"

"Well, I don't know," Reed said, thinking about what Sue was would say about him having coffee with an "old friend" who happened to be a female Nobel Prize winner.

"Of course, your wife is invited," Ally went on. "Come on, Reed. I promise to make sure I don't mention any awkward high school incidents that you might not want your wife to know about."

Reed smiled at that. "Well, I guess that if you are willing to make that kind of sacrifice..."

"Great! I'll meet you at four at the Starbucks on the corner of your street. I would hate for you to be far from home if there were an emergency."

OoooOoooOoooO

Ben watched Johnny out of the corner of his eye as they both sat in the living room watching television. The kid was tense. What was going on with him? At first, Ben had just dismissed it as his way of dealing with what had happened at the fire, but after a while, he realized that there was something else going on. It was like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The ring of Johnny's cell phone interrupted both Ben's thoughts and Johnny's focus on the television.

"Hello?" Johnny said. The apprehension in his tone caught Ben's attention, as did his extremely stiff posture. "I understand," he replied to whatever was said on the other end. His casual attitude sounded forced to Ben, causing him to grow even more concerned for the kid. Johnny's eyes suddenly grew wild with panic for a split second before quickly suppressing it. "I won't... No, fine, I'll be there..."

Johnny hung up the phone and put his head in his hands.

"Johnny?"

"Please, Ben, don't ask," he said, looking up and looking at the Thing imploringly. "I'll be fine. I just have to go meet someone about a car," Johnny explained, getting up and walking towards the elevator.

"If you say so kid..." he replied, still clearly unconvinced.

"I do," Johnny said, stepping into the elevator. "See ya later, Pebbles."

OoooOoooOoooO

"He didn't!" Sue exclaimed before letting laughter overtake her.

"He did!" Ally replied, barely containing the laughter herself. "He felt like kicking himself once he thought about what he said. He turned so red that he looked like a tomato!"

Both girls laughed while Reed turned a little pink. "I thought we agreed on no embarrassing stories," Reed stated helplessly.

"From high school. This happened in college, if you don't recall," Ally laughed.

"Forget neurosurgeon, Ally, you should have been a lawyer," Reed groaned, dropping his head in defeat.

His female companions just laughed.

OoooOoooOoooO

Johnny waited nervously in the abandoned warehouse. Only, it looked nothing like an abandoned warehouse. It had been completely sterilized, with all kinds of medical-looking equipment set up around the obviously newly made lab. The equipment made him especially uneasy, as the woman on the phone had clearly stated that she wanted him for experiments. His mind had come up with various painful scenarios to go with that statement, but he quickly put those out of his mind. He had to do this. His family depended on him.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Storm," a voice called from behind him.

He spun around to face his antagonizer and gasped. "You!"

tbc...


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: See Chapter One

Crash and Freeze

Chapter Seven

Ben raised an eyebrow when Reed and Sue stepped off the elevator nearly doubled over in laughter. "That was an awful long cup of coffee..." he commented, looking back at the paper he was reading. "So what did Ally have to say?"

"Not much," Reed said vaguely.

"Except for all of Reed's blunders in college, such as the time you joined the intermural swim team and your trucks fell off!" Sue laughed.

"That was not my fault! The force of the jetstreams allowed for the material to gradually slip down my waist," Reed contended. "And I recall that it was Ben that turned on the filter in the first place!"

"Just trying to keep you from embarrassing yourself," he commented, shrugging. "So you been at Starbucks this entire time?"

"No, Ally had a meeting at five so she left at about a quarter til. We just decided to make a night of it," Reed said, wrapping an arm around Sue slyly. "Where's Johnny?" he asked, looking around as if just noticing he wasn't there.

"Kid left at around five," Ben related gruffly, concern obvious in his eyes. "Fed me some bull about a car. I'm worried about him. He got a call and then rushed out. Sounded a little freaked to me, and he's been gone a few hours now."

"Odd," Reed commented, frowning. "He's been acting peculiar ever since he accidentally burned through that little girl's dress. Maybe he's still upset over that."

"I think it's more than that," Ben replied, furrowing his brow. "You didn't hear him on that phone..."

Reed's eyes lit up. "I could though..."

Sue looked at him suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Reed said sheepishly. "I may have rigged the security system to record all incoming and outgoing calls. I even enhanced the system to pick up the signal that cell phones give off."

"That is an enormous invasion of privacy, Reed!" Sue shrieked, looking murderous. She deflated though as she realized that the privacy breach could be the only way she could help her little brother. "We will discuss this later."

OoooOoooOoooO

"Shit!" his captor swore, narrowing her eyes while watching the screen. "I should have anticipated this. Reed always was the one to take precautions." She looked at Johnny's shivering form on the table. "Don't worry. They won't hear our conversations, Mr. Storm. I, too, am one for precautions."

Johnny glared at her at best he could in the state he was in. His entire body ached with whatever virus or infection or whatever she had injected into him. Add that to the fact that she had substantially dropped his body temperature so that whatever she had given him wouldn't just burn off immediately, and it was safe to say that this was the worst he had ever felt.

His tormentor swore again as she threw a vial against a wall on the opposite side of the lab. "Your DNA does not reveal anything when compared to that of a normal mutant!" she cried angrily. "Your molecular structure mutated in a different location, which means that whatever tests I perform would be completely useless. Add to that the fact that I can't allow your body temperature to react normally with whatever disease I could infect you with, thereby not allowing me to study the effect certain sickness would hold on mutants, and you are completely useless to me." She sighed in disgust.

"Sorry to disappoint," Johnny chuckled weakly, happy that, in though he was in the worst pain of his life, she was getting nothing from it.

She growled menacingly before pushed a couple of buttons on her watch. Johnny felt his temperature rise, gaining his strength back and feeling the pain lessen. Unfortunately, he was still weak and his muscles still ached.

"You can have a couple of days rest, but I have a job for you then. If you can't help me destroy mutants by providing the necessary data, then you'll just have to help me in another way..."

OoooOoooOoooO

Reed stared in confusion at the computer console in front of him. "How the hell did someone spike our system?!? I designed it myself, it had every protection imaginable!"

"Reed, you've been trying to find the source of the spike for nearly an hour. Maybe it's just a glitch," Sue reasoned.

"And the security system malfunction is just a coincident?" he asked skeptically. "I don't think so. Something is definitely going on."

"I agree with Stretch here, Susie," Ben stated. "With Johnny's strange behavior and the fact that he still hasn't come home yet, and I say there is definitely something to worry about."

The opening of the elevator doors quickly drew their attention.

"JOHNNY!" they all three cried, running into the foyer. Johnny stared at them with wide, somewhat frightened eyes.

"Where have you been?!?" Sue cried, rushing forward and hugging her brother.

"Relax, Sue," he replied nervously. "It's not even that late..."

"So what's the deal on the car?" Ben asked innocently.

"Car?" Johnny said in confusion. "What car? Oh, _that_ car. Um, the guy was lying about the condition, was a piece of junk. You know, I'm kinda tired, so I think I'm just going to crash, ya know?" he said, rushing to his room, anxious to get away.

He shut the door behind him and leaned wearily against it. Trying to control his breathing and his spinning head, he made his way towards his bed and all but fell on top of it. He shivered slightly and tiredly pulled the blankets around him.

What was he going to do now? He couldn't do what she had ordered him to do, he wouldn't. Keeping his family safe was one thing, hurting innocent people were another. But if he didn't, she would kill his family. No, she would use _him _to kill his family...

He knew what he had to do. He couldn't fight her. Hell, he couldn't even flame on unless she allowed him to. He had no control over his powers, but he did have control over where he was when and if she made him go up in flames.

He looked sorrowfully at the door, knowing his family was out there worrying about him. This would cause them to worry so much more, but he had no choice.

He had to leave, and he didn't think he would live to come back.

Tbc...


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: See Chapter One

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. My laptop died along with all my files. Anyway, on with the story!

Crash and Freeze

Chapter Eight

"Where are you?"

Johnny smirked at the tone of her voice. "Why, doctor, I haven't even been out of the Baxter Building for five hours. Already worried?"

There was a pause at the other end, and Johnny could picture her narrowing her icy stare. "There are no heat signatures around you, indicating that you are at least one mile away from any other human, and I do use that term loosely. Are you trying to run out on me, Mr. Storm?"

"I'm not trying, Dr. McKall. I am," he stated firmly. "I am miles away from civilization. You can't and won't use me to hurt anyone."

The neurosurgeon on the other end of the phone actually chucked! "I knew you were going to give me trouble from the moment you woke too soon from your drug induced stupor. However, I underestimated you. I never thought you would knowingly walk to your own death."

Johnny scoffed. "If you even thought for one minute that I would use my powers to kill innocent people— "

"Innocent! The only innocent mutants are those that have been killed before they could use their abilities! If you cared about this planet half as much as you and your team claimed to— "

"Do you think I am stupid?" Johnny interrupted. "Even if what you asked was as innocuous as you say, which it isn't, I know where it would lead! You would have never let me go! You would have made me your puppet for life! Well, I am ending it here!"

His impassioned statement was met with utter silence for a moment until, finally, the cold voice of Allison McKall answered.

"Then you have sentenced yourself to a long, cold death."

OoooOoooOoooO

"Johnny," Sue called, knocking lightly on her brother's door. "Are you okay? You aren't still asleep are you?" She turned the doorknob and opened the door. "It's almost noon, what…?"

She trailed off as she was met with an empty room. Puzzled, she walked back into the kitchen where Reed and Ben were eating. "Have either of you seen Johnny?"

"Not since last night," Ben answered as Reed shook his head. "Thought he was in his room."

"He's not there," she said, growing concerned. "He wouldn't just leave without telling us, would he?"

"Doesn't sound like him," Reed commented, frowning. "He hasn't been acting like himself lately though…"

OoooOoooOoooO

His teeth chattered as he watched the sun rise to its highest position in the sky. He didn't realize that death would be this painful. A tear escaped from his eye before freezing on his cheek. He didn't want to die. Death had always seemed a million miles away for him, despite all the near-death experiences he had as a member of the Fantastic Four. They had always happened so quickly that his own mortality never really registered in his mind. Sure, he was well aware of the mortality of everyone around him, Sue dying for all intents and purposes in China was enough to hammer that into his head, but he figured no one ever thought about their own deaths in that sense.

Sue would be devastated when she found out. He didn't really know what Reed and Ben's reactions would be, but he hoped that they would be able to be strong for Sue, that's assuming that they would care at all. He kicked himself for even thinking that. Of course they would care. Sure, he and Reed hadn't always got along great, but he liked to think that they were good friends. Hell, the older man was the big brother Johnny had always wished he had. Surely Reed would care if he died.

Ben, he was sure, would want to kill him if he had even an inkling of what Johnny was doing. The big guy cared about the entire team, and was very protective of them all. He and Johnny messed with each other all the time and tried to drive the other crazy, but that was how they expressed their mutual affection. Ben had always been a mentor to him. Someone to look up to, someone who looked out for him. Johnny knew exactly what he would say if he could see him now.

__

'Kid, what the hell are you doing? Get your ass up and call for help! Jeez, hothead, instead of feeling sorry for yourself, why don't you think of what we'd go through if you just sat there and died? Do you even care about your team anymore?"

He managed to take his mind off the cold long enough to wonder when Ben's voice had replaced Sue's as his conscience, but he shook his head at the thought. No matter what voice the realization came in, he knew that he needed help. There was no reason to keep his plight secret. He couldn't hurt them if he wasn't with them.

He pulled at his phone, cursing when he saw that he had very little battery left. He'd have to make it quick. He dialed home, which was answered before it had the chance to ring twice.

"Hello?" came the worried gravelly voice that had only minutes before had only been in his head.

"Ben," Johnny croaked out in pain. "I need help."

Tbc…


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: See Chapter One

Crash and Freeze

Chapter Nine

"Kid, where the hell are you?!?" Ben roared into the phone, catching the immediate attention of Reed and Sue. "What do you mean you aren't sure?!?"

Seeing Ben was about to lose his cool, Sue quickly grabbed the phone from him and put it to her own ear. "Johnny, what's going on?" Puzzlement crossed her face as she listened to Johnny as he explained as best as he could, but she could tell that he was weakening. "Ally? What…? Just stay put! We'll come get you— "

Johnny's "NO!" was loud enough to be heard by the other two in the room. Sue frowned in concern as she listened to her brother.

"Johnny? Johnny!" she cried as the other end of the phone suddenly went silent. Tears began to stream from her eyes as she realized that her brother wasn't going to answer. The sudden dial tone that emitted from the phone made her jump.

"We were cut off," she explained as she desperately dialed his cell. "Dammit!" she swore as it went to voicemail.

"Sue, what's happening?" Reed asked, trying to get her to focus.

"That bitch Allison is what happened! She's killing my brother!"

"What?!?" Shocked horror was written on both Ben and Reed's faces, with good reason. The Allison McKall they knew was a sweet, if competitive, girl with a fierce sense of justice.

"Why would Ally hurt Johnny?" Ben asked in confusion.

"I don't know and don't care. The fact of the matter is that she used her little invention to control Johnny's powers, and I'm gonna kill her for daring to mess with my little brother." Sue's eyes burned with anger, and neither Ben nor Reed even thought about trying to stop her.

OoooOoooOoooO

She crept quietly into the lab, her clear blue eyes darting back and forth between the control panel in front of her and the door behind her. She had to hurry. That…woman? Thing? That monster would be back soon, and if she were caught here…

But she would not let her invention be used for evil! She swept a few stray strands of bright red hair out of her eyes and focused on the task before her. She typed furiously, trying desperately to reprogram the device and deactivate it.

"Now, Dr. McKall, you know better." She whirled around to face her tormentor. The imposing bald figure smirked. "Now, maybe you need a reminder of who you are dealing with."

"Ah!" Allison cried out, clutching her head in pain and falling to her knees. White hot pain lanced through her psyche, making the world fall away from her consciousness until all she knew was agony. Then, just as soon as it had begun, it stopped.

"Let that be a lesson to you. Do not try and defy me. I would hate to have to kill you before I am done with my plans you. You wouldn't want that, now, would you?"

She just sat there, panting, trying to calm the shaking of her body at the sudden removal of the pain. She hated her, this thing that wore the face of a human. She couldn't possibly be human, could she? What human could be this cruel?


End file.
